Covestro, a global manufacturer of polymer materials and their components used in mobility sector has announced plans to set up a new line for mechanical recycling (MCR) of polycarbonates by 2023. This will be set up at its integrated site in Shanghai to address the growing demand for sustainable solutions.
The new MCR line will address the growing demand for Post-Consumer-Recycled (PCR) products used primarily for manufacture of electrical and electronic products, automotive applications, and consumer goods.
The line, which represents an investment of more than 27 million euro by Covestro, will be capable of delivering more than 25,000 tonnes of high-quality polycarbonates and blends containing mechanically recycled content annually. Overall, the company aims to be capable to deliver more than 60,000 tonnes of polycarbonates with recycled content in Asia Pacific per year until 2026.
Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro said, “The MCR production line is another exciting step we have taken to fulfill our commitment toward a circular economy and achieve our goal to become operational climate neutral by 2035.”
Lily Wang, Head of Covestro’s Engineering Plastics segment added that the company will continue to invest towards this end, “To meet the rapid growth in demand for more sustainable and circular solutions from our downstream customers, we will continue to invest in expanding our capabilities.”
Covestro will also be repurposing an existing compounding line at its Map Ta Phut site in Thailand to a plant for mechanical recycling. The conversion of the plant is scheduled to be accomplished by the end of 2022. Based on the current forecast, the unit will supply up to 10 percent PCR based product of its annual production volume by 2030.
Dr Nicolas Stoeckel, Head of Operations in the Engineering Plastics segment, said: “The new developments in China and Thailand are not only about investing in capacity increase, but also about improving our capability to produce more products with higher recycled content and more consistent quality.”
The two facilities in Shanghai and Map Ta Phut will boost Covestro’s output of PCR polycarbonates.
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